Effects of Heat Treatment upon the Electrical Properties of Silicon

Experimental studies have been made of the processes in which the changes of the carrier concentration and minority carrier lifetime are introduced into silicon by heat treatment at the temperature range 400–1200°C. In the low temperature heat treatment, the formed denors are less in the vicinity of crystal defects. In the high temperature heat treatment, the decrease of carrier density in p - and n -type crystals is observed in addition to the annihilation of the formed donors. These behaviors are closely related to the crystal defects. The characteristics of the processes involved are discussed and explained by the introduction of the recombination centers with a capture cross section of 2×10 -15 cm 2 for hole (at 300°K).